"Jumping from boulder to boulder and never falling, with a heavy pack, is easier than it sounds; you just can't fall when you get into the rhythm of the dance."
― Jack Kerouac
Oh, but you can ... and I did. Anyway, Sunday seemed like a good day to try for Townsend's Solitaires at Devil's Lake State Park in the Baraboo Hills. I knew that a few birders had found one or two on the East Bluff recently, so that would be the day's destination. It was a breezy outing with gusts out of the south whipping the bluff at times, but trees helped diminish the wind in a few places. Temperatures climbed into the lower 40s, so in the sunlight conditions were quite balmy for January.
Balanced Rock Trail was a bit snowy and icy ― careful foot placement was very necessary.
I did have my Yaktrax ICEtrekkers Diamond Grip cleats, but sometimes surfaces are so slippery ― ice or smooth rocks ― that even they can't be completely relied upon. I also had my trekking poles to help keep my balance while navigating the challenging terrain.
Getting closer to the top ...
The fantastic views ...
Now the trick was to listen for the Solitaire's diminutive toot-toot-toot whistles through the wind.
I've found TOSOs at Devil's Doorway many times on past excursions, but none were present at this iconic rocky structure this time. If they were there they were probably hunkering in the rocks out of the wind.
Doing an about-face westward, I finally heard one of the birds calling and located it perched atop a tree about just a short ways east of Balanced Rock Trail. The last time I saw this species was at Gibraltar Rock SNA in 2019, so it's been awhile since getting a glimpse of these wanderers from the west.
Before heading back down Balanced Rock Trail, I took some photographs of some icicles that formed from water cascading down a large rocky outcropping.
Climb it?
Oh, heck no.
Photographs suffice.
Getting back to the trail, taking one last glimpse from the top ... just a gorgeous view.
If you ask me, going down the trail is much more challenging than the hike up.
And this time it cost me a hard fall on my hands and knees. The knee cut bled quite a bit and soaked through my pants before stopping to bandage it. In the fall I jammed my right index finger and it's quite swollen, but I don't think I broke it. Ah well, at least I didn't become one of the park's fatality statistics, which I believe numbers somewhere between 8 and 10 from falls. There have been other incidents as well, including drownings and even a murder in 2020 (unsolved). And this is partly the reason today my close friends know what a cautious fellow I am.
All images © 2023 Mike McDowell